Inside the cauldron, the exotic beast was shrinking, thrashing violently, but it had suffered greatly in its battle with Shi Hao and was now firmly pinned down.
The lightning-forged cauldron channeled thunderbolts, refining both the man and the beast within, as if stewing them in a divine brew.
Shi Hao was in agony and ecstasy. Struck by lightning, his body emitted wisps of smoke, and inside the cauldron, there was no escape—only passive endurance, tempering his very being.
Yet, this beast was like a supreme tonic. It dimmed, its eyes losing their luster, as all its thunder essence was absorbed by Shi Hao.
Earlier, it had been far larger than him, but now the tables had turned. It howled like a cat, unable to break free, clutched by Shi Hao as it dissolved into strands of lightning, shrinking and evaporating into mist.
“So comfortable… What is this? A spirit born of thunder?” Shi Hao pondered, but it didn’t seem so. It resembled a living creature yet lacked a soul.
Regardless, Shi Hao reaped immense benefits. The beast contained pure thunder vitality, all of which surged into his body, baptizing him and illuminating his divine soul to unparalleled brilliance.
Finally, everything dissipated. The beast vanished, completely refined by Shi Hao.
“Is it over now?” Shi Hao emerged from the cauldron, gazing at the sky. Dark clouds loomed overhead, rolling ominously, suffocating the air.
**Boom!**
Suddenly, five thunderbolts struck him simultaneously, making his seven orifices bleed and spew radiant lightning. The force was overwhelming—even the hardest iron would have shattered.
“Damn it, I never asked for this!” he cursed as his body was sent flying. This was truly being struck by divine punishment.
But this was not the end—only the beginning of a new wave. The sky blazed with lightning, cascading like endless waterfalls, purple qi surging from the east.
Shi Hao felt dizzy, utterly stunned. “This is too much!” Hundreds, thousands of thunderous waterfalls poured from the void, crashing onto him with deafening roars.
Was there even a path to survival?
Standing beneath the deluge, he fought with everything he had, pushing the Thunder Emperor’s Treasure Technique to its limits.
Even so, his hair was disheveled, blood splattered, and his body was charred in large patches. His hair had burned and fallen out—a gruesome sight.
By the end, even his skin cracked and peeled like parched earth, dropping off in chunks. Shi Hao faced a dire crisis.
“There’s vitality within the thunder, the essence of heaven and earth. I must find it,” Shi Hao inwardly declared.
This was a tribulation, a brutal trial. If he endured, his flesh and soul would grow stronger—but the ordeal was so extreme that a single misstep meant annihilation.
He roared, punching upward against the waterfalls, resisting relentlessly.
It was like his childhood, when he carried boulders weighing tens of thousands of pounds, training under waterfalls, defying the heavens. Only now, the challenge was far more terrifying.
Blood streamed from his head, his body charred, shedding layers of cracked, dead skin.
Yet, his spirit was honed to an unprecedented sharpness. Within him, a surge of vital energy glowed brilliantly.
This was like refining immortal gold—burning away the dross, purging impurities, leaving only the purest essence to forge the sharpest, strongest weapon.
This was true tempering—walking the line between life and death, hammering his flesh and soul through countless trials to achieve genuine metamorphosis.
His body ached, even shedding old skin, but Shi Hao’s spirit shone brighter than ever, refining the purest essence within.
His brow shimmered as a radiant little figure emerged, mimicking his punches, undergoing the same refinement.
Shi Hao’s physical strength was undeniable, allowing him to endure. His divine soul, however, though vast from consuming the Golden Bodhi Fruit, lacked refinement.
Now, battered by thunderous waterfalls, his soul was compressed, purified, crystallizing into flawless brilliance, shedding the impurities left by consuming divine fruits.
Though his flesh withered and his skin peeled, his bones shimmered with runes—his body was transforming.
At last, he sensed the vitality within the thunder. With a roar, he punched upward, leaping into the waterfall, swallowing the lightning.
**Boom!**
The heavens trembled, endless thunder roared.
Shi Hao underwent a shocking transformation. His body swelled, his forehead shone, and lightning surged into him, reversing his withered state.
This was the breath of life, regenerating his flesh.
Purple qi flowed from the east, serene yet fierce.
The waterfalls dried up, revealing a cliff—an eerie sight, formed of thunder.
Shi Hao ascended, sitting cross-legged atop the cliff, circulating his bone runes until finally, tranquility returned. His body gleamed like jade, and within his brow, a radiant little figure stood, indomitable.
This transformation surpassed all previous ones!
The world fell silent again, but Shi Hao remained wary. Twice now, lightning had struck when he least expected it.
“Hmm… snow?” Shi Hao muttered as goose-feather snowflakes drifted from the sky, icy and piercing.
This was strange—even if there were ice clouds, it shouldn’t be this extreme.
**Crack!**
When palm-sized snowflakes landed on him, they erupted with thunder, freezing and deafening, terrifying in their power.
This was no ordinary snow—it was like meteors, each weighing billions of pounds, smashing into him before exploding.
Now he believed it—the ancient era of immortals had passed, and this epoch had changed. Invoking heavenly tribulation recklessly invited calamity, birthing bizarre phenomena.
He had witnessed it firsthand. The lightning he faced was unlike anything recorded in ancient texts—living creatures, waterfall cliffs, and now thunderous snowflakes.
**Crack!**
Finally, the blizzard swirled, the wind howled, and all the snow coalesced, encasing Shi Hao in a massive, translucent block of ice.
Ten zhang tall, it hovered in the void, cold enough to freeze even a Venerable’s flesh and soul, suppressing their magic into immobility.
This was no mere cold—it carried the weight of divine law.
This snow-thunder tribulation was demonic!
Dazed, Shi Hao was sealed within, enduring unimaginable cold and thunderous power that threatened to shatter him.
He knew he couldn’t succumb. If he closed his eyes, he would die in this eerie tribulation.
Slowly, his body began to glow, then blazed with vitality. His blood boiled with yang energy, and even the mark of sin on his brow radiated holy light.
Shi Hao unleashed his full potential, burning like a great sun until he transformed into a golden orb of incandescent brilliance.
At last, the ten-zhang “ice” cracked and exploded into countless droplets, absorbed by his body.
“Demonic… This tribulation must have an extraordinary origin!” Shi Hao was certain. Though perilous, the rewards would be immense.
He could feel it—each time he survived, his body underwent a slow metamorphosis, growing tougher, his soul purer, condensing into a radiant orb cradling a tiny figure.
“I’m growing stronger!”
**Boom!**
After a brief lull, another tribulation descended.
Thus, Shi Hao faced an unprecedented ordeal—he was continuously undergoing tribulations, each lasting an eternity. By the end, he had endured nine heavenly calamities.
“This…” He was stunned. Ninefold tribulation was the pinnacle—even in the ancient era, most experts only faced three or four.
Those who surpassed five were extraordinary.
“Most of the nine tribulations I faced were bizarre, unheard of. Only two or three matched the records of the most fearsome thunder.”
Shi Hao was speechless. This was his first attempt at tribulation, yet he was subjected to such treatment.
It sounded simple, but he had been crippled five or six times—once even decapitated, his limbs torn apart, bones scattered.
Yet, he had clawed his way back each time.
If the recorded tribulations were this brutal, the undocumented ones were even more sinister.
“Finally, it’s over,” Shi Hao exhaled in relief.
**Boom!**
A colossal thunderbolt, vast as an ocean, slammed into him, shattering bones and runes alike. Drenched in blood, he was nearly broken.
“There’s more?!” Shi Hao was furious. There were limits to tempering—even in the ancient era, ninefold tribulation was the peak.
And each wave had been bizarre and deadly.
Now, a tenth?
This was outright murder, a cataclysmic tribulation meant to annihilate him.
He recalled fragmented records—some spoke of a tenth tribulation, but it was said to never manifest.
Yet he had encountered it!
This was punishment for invoking tribulation in an era where it shouldn’t exist. Each wave was the most extreme, the most lethal.
And now, the final strike—the tenth!
This time, Shi Hao hovered between life and death. His flesh was torn, bones exposed, arms shattered, even bisected by supreme lightning.
“You won’t kill me!”
With a furious roar, he mustered all his strength, reassembling his body with sheer will, enveloping himself in surging blood qi.
This was the ultimate trial—Shi Hao endured the harshest suffering.
At last, the thunder weakened, and he leaped into a mountainous terrain.
“Mountains? How?” He was shocked—the tenth bizarre tribulation wasn’t over.
The earth shook as hoofbeats thundered like an earthquake. A crimson warhorse, mane ablaze, charged toward him, ridden by a figure wielding a halberd, radiating divine might.
Extreme danger!
Shi Hao roared, reassembling his body, steeling himself for the final battle.
A rider in the thunder—this defied reason, but there was no time to ponder. Only life or death remained.
**Clang!**
The Thunder Emperor’s Treasure Technique erupted as Shi Hao fought desperately, clashing with the halberd.
Soon, blood sprayed—he was nearly cleaved in half.
“The tenth tribulation seeks my death, but I won’t yield! Cycle Reversal!”
Shi Hao bellowed, unleashing the Reincarnation Treasure Technique. Dazzling light engulfed the rider, sending them reeling.
“Kill!”
Shi Hao fought like a madman, tearing the rider apart.
Yet, to his horror, thunder replenished them, reviving the rider stronger than before.
This was terror incarnate—an unkillable foe, growing mightier with each defeat.
The battle pushed Shi Hao to the brink. His bones fractured, his body mangled—never had he faced such a foe.
Reincarnation, Kun Peng, Thunder Emperor—he unleashed every treasure technique, something he had never done since arriving in the upper realm.
This was his most grueling battle, nearly breaking him.
“Kill!”
Shi Hao’s eyes blazed with unyielding will. No matter the wounds, no matter the foe’s strength, he fought without fear.
**Boom!**
After countless clashes, the rider finally vanished into the thunder.
Exhausted, Shi Hao collapsed. This battle had been too brutal—the rider was monstrous, regenerating and improving with each defeat.
“This was too much. I’m half-dead,” Shi Hao muttered, sitting on the ground. This tribulation was beyond belief.
Behind his head, a divine disk of runes had recorded everything before fading—though Shi Hao didn’t notice.
The mountains blurred—they were thunder-formed, vanishing as the tribulation receded.
“I… survived,” Shi Hao whispered, sensing his completion as a Venerable.
Though broken, his flesh was tougher, gleaming with indescribable light, his soul radiant.
**Clang!**
The tiny figure from his brow emerged, inhaling the scattered thunder, absorbing every wisp of tribulation energy.
His body and soul bathed in lightning, refining this rare, ancient power.
Shi Hao felt it—he had grown stronger, his flesh and soul reborn through this unimaginable baptism.
“There…”
He looked up into the clouds, where a pool of liquid shimmered amidst the lightning.
“The true metamorphosis begins!”
Shi Hao soared. Even after nearly dying in the tenth tribulation, this pool of treasure liquid would grant him rebirth.
His injuries meant nothing now—he would transcend once more.
In a flash, he reached the pool. The liquid within was dense, radiant, brimming with life and fragrance.
This harvest was monumental!
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage